The Mountain Audio

Our Verse: Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God made the heavens and the earth.

It's hard to watch any science show on TV or a movie without hearing this phrase. “Millions and millions of years”, our acronym- MAMOY…The phrase is a clever device to help people not be responsible to God. One of the New Testament writers says that men are "willingly ignorant” of the things of God” Many humans choose not to believe. It's just too painful to concede that God truly exists and made the heavens and the earth. Because if He did, every single person is responsible to Him, their Creator.

One way people avoid being responsible to God is the “theory” of evolution. First claimed true in 1859, it's believers needed millions of years for the theory to work. Now, 159 years later, modern followers keep adding more millions, claiming 150 to 200 million years! Why? Because for any possibility of evolution happening, you need an immense amount of time. Scientists claiming the faith of evolution need more time! Just remember it is a theory not a fact!

One part of MAMOY faith is transitional species, (Sadly, there are none!) Some proposed the “hopeful monster” theory. Evolutionist R. Goldschmidt opined “that a reptile laid an egg that a bird hatched out of.”

Another problem is the missing bones. If animals and people had populated earth for MAMOY (millions and millions of years) there would be immense piles of their bones world wide. Where are those pesky bones? They simply don't exist!

A much simpler and solid hypothesis is built on believing what God wrote us in His book. His first words to us: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Seeing the complexity of human and animal life, we know there is a Creator.

So...before you unthinkingly accept a theory claiming MAMOY (millions and millions of years), consider God and the huge volume of evidence from our Creator!

Our Verse: Rev 3:11 Speaking about every true God follower, Jesus said, “they will be citizens in the city of my God—the new Jerusalem. And... “I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God.”

There are exciting times ahead for those in Jesus. A day is coming when we will leave this physical body and move into another dimension, our new forever home. Jesus made this fact clear to his followers before He left the earth. He said, “I am going to prepare a place for you. When everything is ready, I will come and get you.” Not too long after that, His disciples watched him rise off the ground and disappear into a cloud. We know from an earlier Mountain episode that Jesus now sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven. One of his tasks there is preparing a new city for all God followers. Your new home will have a beautiful river, fruit trees and many other marvels impossible to describe. No need for a passport, you will be a naturalized citizen of New Jerusalem.

We've all heard of New Delhi and New York, but New Jerusalem will be unlike any human city ever built.

This may be a little difficult to grasp, but our New Jerusalem will be 1400 miles CUBIC. Yes, you heard that right, CUBIC. These dimensions are given in Revelation 21. There will be three entrance gates on each side of the city and it will be full of thankful God followers just like you and me.

And...according to our verse above, you and I will become a solid part of the structure of the city- pillars in the temple of our God. It will be our forever home. You will never have to leave. There will be many.. adventures there, so get ready. Things utterly unimaginable await us in our new forever home, New Jerusalem.

Our Verse: Mark 11:22 Jesus taught, “Have faith in God. Truly, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart.

So, just what is Faith exactly?”
Here's a simple definition- Faith is personal trust in God.
A deeper definition says- Faith is a mental and spiritual conviction where you believe God will do just what He promised you. (Conviction means you believe something with all your being.)

Let's consider some facts:
Every single human can believe in God, no matter what they have said or done.
Faith exists in every human being. God puts it there so all can believe.
Faith can be exercised and it can grow. Rom 4:20 Jesus says faith is like a very small seed.

One important caution:
Faith is not just a feeling or hope for something good or useful.
We may have faith in a person or a philosophy, but that is not true faith.

The best word to explain faith is trust. With your God-given faith, you trust Him instead of yourself, others and circumstances of life. Trusting people often ends with disappointment. Trusting God is always a win for you and for those around you.

He builds this trust, this faith, in us so we can live better in a broken world. and over time change our broken world for the better! Life is messy, it's full of problems and problem people. Trusting God through the messes make your faith grow. Rom 4:20 Faith becomes stronger faith! Faith that's real, and faith that's powerful!

In a future Mtn episode, you will meet 2 men who Jesus helped with their faith. Our regular Mtn friend Pete the fisherman and an officer in the Roman Army. Meet a faith flop and a Faith powerhouse!

Our Verse: Rev 1:1 This is a revelation (a revealing) from Jesus Christ...

The Bible's final part, Revelation, “reveals” Jesus Christ. He is the center. We are given the details by one of Jesus closest friends, John. He is lifted from an island off the coast of Turkey and transported into God's throne room. Amazing as it sounds, that's just what happened. God gave us a peek into His personal Room so we could know about it. Revelation, the book, is about things that will happen to all mankind before God changes the world from man's rule and authority to His.

Here are the basics to get you started:
God describes how man has worshipped Him, both right and wrong, thru the ages.
He describes how the world will unite to rule themselves. No God for us please!

He describes the government that will form in the final days of earth's history. Then He describes it's demise and that of it's structure and leaders.

Revelation describes a world gone berserk because God is gone from it. It will be a very dangerous and scary time for all people. Many parts of the book are echoed in the ancient books of Daniel, Ezekiel and Zechariah. Much that Jesus taught while on earth is connected to events in this book.

Finally, the book describes a brand new time for planet Earth. A day will arrive when Jesus actually appears on the earth at Jerusalem and assumes royal authority over the entire planet. He will bring in an era of peace unlike anything we humans have ever known. The entire absence of war. The entire absence of violence, by animals and men. The world will be entirely cleansed of all things bad, both physical and spiritual.

It's all there. Written in the first Century, Revelation has stood the test of time. Parts of it have already occurred, parts of it are yet to occur. It is a story of grim future events and a bright forever future for all who put their trust in God, our Creator. Get ready, it is coming. We don't know when, just that it truly is!

Ask God for wisdom, dive in! He will lead as you read!

Our Verse: Jer 38:11 “Put these rags under your armpits, they'll protect you from the ropes.”

Today's story is about a genuine hero. His name- Ebedmellech. He lived about 2600 years ago. We call him Ebb.
As a official in the King's household, He became aware of the prophet Jeremiah's imprisonment. He risked his own position to save Jeremiah from a terrible dungeon. When he asked for Jeremiah's release, amazingly, the king consented. (The king respected Jeremiah, but caved in to his counsellors and had him jailed.) Ebb immediately mounted a rescue mission. With 30 men, he headed for the dungeon. Jeremiah had been thrown into a sewer full of mud. It was dark and it stunk. His enemies decided to throw him in the stone tank, put a stone on top and slowly starve him to death. Out of sight, out of mind. Our hero, Ebb, watched all this happen and knew Jeremiah's fate. He approached the king humbly asking for his release. The king was a total wimp but knew Jeremiah served God. He didn't want him dead and quietly agreed to a rescue.

All this time, Jeremiah gave up, he quit! no possibility of rescue for him; he felt abandoned. But God had another plan, and it involved an Ethiopian slave, our pal Ebb. Completely outside Jeremiah's perception, God mounted a rescue plan! Jeremiah had been faithful to God, and God would be faithful to him.

It's really hard to describe what Jeremiah felt as the stone was moved. Dust and sunlight poured in the hole above him. A face looked down and said these words, “Put these rags under your armpits, they'll protect you from the ropes.” The mud around him squelched as he was pulled out!

God was faithful to Jeremiah. He uses people and circumstances we can't imagine to help us in our troubles. Be faithful to God and He will be faithful to you!

Read the whole rescue mission in Jeremiah 38

Our Verse: Luke 15:18 “I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you”

Jesus story is about a wealthy teen or 20something who made some big relational and financial mistakes! The story in Luke has lots of parts but we'll just focus on the kid. He decides to leave home and take his money “now”. He says, “Dad, I want my inheritance now". Being just a kid he blows the money. His life plummets, all his friends desert him and he finally ends up in a pig sty. Take it from one who knows... a pig sty is a very uncomfortable place! Cold, wet and muddy. He is so hungry he decides to eat the pig food. At this moment, he realizes the servants at his dad's house are eating good food while he eats garbage. He emotionally wakes up and says, “It's time to go back to my father.”

As one writer put it, “This was his lowest depth-- perishing unpitied, alone in the world, and ready to disappear from it unmissed.”

He knows it's a big risk. His dad may not accept him back because of his foolish actions. But with no options available, he's decides to make the trek home.

Here's the clincher, He realized he made a mistake. He turned around and went back home and made it right. This is what we do with God our Father in heaven. We realize we've been mistaken in running our own lives, and go on home and make it right with Him. This is a real-life example of repentance, turning around, making a 180 and doing what's right.

King to Animal episode-http://subsplash.com/themountain/v/b1b0142

If you are at your lowest depth, perishing, alone and feeling ready to disappear, this story may be for you.

The young man's pop received him with love and forgiveness. Your Father in heaven will do the same for you. Don't wait, start your new life right now!

Enjoy reading the whole story in Luke 15 in the New Testament.

Our Verse: Isa 28:10 God tells us everything over and over—one line at a time, one line at a time, a little here, and a little there.

Text:
Can we decode God's complex message? There are many deep and sometimes hard to understand connections in Scripture, so how/ can we understand?

We need a decryption key to God's message. This key, the most critical element to understanding the Bible, is God's presence in your life. He is the Key. While invisible to your eyes, God makes Himself present to everyone through what we know as His Holy Spirit. This everywhere presence of God is first described in Genesis 1:2 as the Spirit of God hovered over the waters of earth.”

As we grasp the key- recognizing His presence, we begin to understand His message.

As you read, God decrypts! At first, you will see a simple picture of Him, a little like kindergarten, the basics of faith. As you grow in understanding and mature as a Christian, you will see His design and understand more, like the verse above, a little here, and a little there. And the result, Your faith, your trust grows.

Reading Scripture helps you to build a mental library of Bible verses. You begin to weave these verses together into a pattern, like a tapestry. From that pattern comes a full picture of God and His ways, and a picture of you.

In an earlier episode we talked about comparing verses. As you read your Bible, you will see these connections.You will find connections within the New Testament and connections between the Old and New Testaments. I am always finding these connections. They validate the essentials of our belief, God's forgiveness, His justice and mercy and His willingness to communicate with us! Finding the connections in Scripture helps us understand who He is, and what He wants from us.

Our verse: Gen 1:28 “...God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it.”

God tells us humans from the very beginning that humanity is to be fruitful. Just what is He talking about and how do we respond?

Let's consider...
Fruitfulness involves many things. Primarily it means having a family and increasing the number of people here. Second it means to take care of the earth. To make the earth a beautiful place to raise your family and be with your friends. God made this the rule of life for all people at the very beginning of time.

How about a definition from God's perspective?
“Fruitiful” means producing more humans and ruling over and using the earth in a way that helps everyone on it.

Sadly mankind has messed up these guidelines and forgotten how to do it right. People today seek physical satisfaction as the primary goal and use up the earth for one's own ends without considering affects them or others.

Our task is to reverse this trend among people everywhere. We are to be “fruitful”- productive in our lives on earth. This means we use the Golden Rule, treating others just like we want to be treated. Our concern pointed outward, not inward. It means we will raise and protect our families and treat them well.

We will take care of the physical earth, not wasting what God made, but instead using and developing it for the benefit of all. This includes the digital world of electrons and machines.

We are the next wave of Christians- God followers, following millions of others throughout history from Adam and Eve. We continue to bring good to the world. We are helpers and healers. Education, the arts, the professions, like law science, medicine. While there is degradation in these fields, we have unlimited opportunities to love God and our fellow humans.

This is where you come in for 2017. This can be the best year ever for you, your family, the world around you. You have your natural skills and acquired skills to be “fruitful”- a real world, everyday help to make the world better. Take some time here at the new year to do an inventory of your natural and acquired skills. (many resources online) Then pray and ask your Father in Heaven how you might use those skills to bless yourself, your family and others. He will supernaturally energize you to use your gifts for the benefit of others. Our prayer for you- Father, please bless this Mountain listener, He or she is Your child, and gifted to be fruitful in this world, help us make the world better for every single person, In Jesus' name, Amen! Happy 2017!

Mtn Friends, meet Pastor Dan Bruce as he shares how any man can be great if he trusts God.

Pastor Dan: ” Every father, every husband, every man, every person, yearns for significance...” “Men can become laser beams of focus... we yearn to be heroes.”

Here is the link for Pastor Dan's full message “Grace Alone”: themountain.info/dan-bruce.
More great messages by God's faithful speakers soon. Press on in your faith and become GREAT through...Grace Alone!
PS/FYI-
Pastor Dan, leading Faith Assembly Church in Imperial, CA. is a dear friend and excellent Bible teacher. Visit their site (ivfaithassembly.org) for great messages to boost your God Adventures! When you visit Faith Assembly, say Hi from the Mountain Team!